Merry Christmas
by Natalilly
Summary: A challange fiction. Lucius malfoy pays a visit to Hogwarts as it prepares for Christmas and gets a less then warm welcome


_Challenge fic_

**Merry Christmas**

Disclaimer: You know the drill. The characters aren't mine, they never were and they never will be. Shame on you if you don't know who they really belong to

Author's note; This is a challenge fic set by my friend R.J Niccoli (link) We set each other ten challenges, six Harry Potter, two Belgariad and two Lord of the Rings. The conclusion of each must be totally feasible, and completely in character.  

The requirements are

**Characters: **Lucius Malfoy, Minerva McGonagall, Professor Sprout and Madame Pomfrey 

**Item: **A picture of the Hogwarts front doors

**Quote: **"How did this wand get into my stocking?" 

**Conclusion: **Someone knocked out and in the hospital wing

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**Minerva McGonagall**, Transfiguration professor and deputy headmistress of Hogwarts School of witchcraft and wizardry scurried through the halls of the almost deserted school. She was wrapped up snugly against the Christmas chill with a warm, festive red and green tartan scarf and thick, tweed robes.   
She clutched a rolled up piece of parchment tightly to her, her beady eyes scanning one hall and then the next, looking desperately for Professor Flitwick, who had been neither in his office, classroom nor the staffroom. 

He was imperative to the headmaster's plans.   
Of course, being Christmas soon, he could be anywhere in the castle, putting up decorations. So Minerva was cursed to scurry about the castle like a disrupted beetle looking for him. 

However, turning into the corridor leading to the hospital wing, her errand was forgotten. 

"Sir, I must insist. You can not take him out!" **Madame Pomfrey** bristled, standing up to her full height, lips thin and furious. **Lucius Malfoy** stood unmovable, eyes frostier then the temperature outside.

"Dear woman" He sneered "I believe the responsibility for my own son's health relies upon me- not you- now stand aside…" His tone was crisp with tightly controlled anger. He tapped Pomfrey's legs with his cane in a rather imperious gesture that sent the matron a nasty shade of brick. 

Minerva sighed pocketing the parchment and assuming her most authoritive expression. She never enjoyed meetings with Lucius Malfoy. All control over him had been lost when he finished at Hogwarts; he was a power unto himself- like his father before him, and no doubt, like his son after. 

"What's the problem, Madame Pomfrey?" she asked, striding briskly over to the warring pair. The hospital matron looked thoroughly relieved to see her- Malfoy however, didn't change expression in the slightest. 

"Minerva, thank God. This man…" She gestured irritably to Malfoy, who sneered at the address "has been trying to enter the hospital wing. He apparently wants to take his son home for Christmas- but I must object, Minerva, young master Malfoy's down with a terrible case of the nipping chills and really MUST be kept warm at all times. He is not fit to be moved…" 

McGonagall automatically turned to Malfoy, knowing without even waiting for it, that he would undoubtedly have something to say on the matter. 

"Foolish woman," HE spat "I assure you my son will be kept warm and safe- our manor is hardly drafty and I plan to travel with him by floo powder- as… colloquial as it is… which certainly is a rather warm way to travel." He sneered again. Minerva noticed it seemed to fit his face- as if he had been designed to wear that expression. 

Madame Pomfrey's eyes went hard and her lips quivered with fury, her fists clenched, looking as if she were about to hit him. "Dear Sir, your son's illness can not abide a temperature change at all- as soon as you move him from that bed- his temperature will drop. No, Mr. Malfoy, I must insist he stays." 

Minerva decided to end this here and now. She saw Lucius open his mouth to retort, but cut him off. 

"Is there any way of moving him, bed and all, Pomfrey?" She asked. The flyaway matron scowled thoughtfully, and Malfoy's cane tapped on the ground in irritation. She ignored him

"Possibly, Professor." She said dubiously "but I really don't think it's a good ide…" 

"It will have to do, Pomfrey- if Mr. Malfoy is determined to take his son then we must compromise, at the very least."  
"Minerva I must say…" Lucius Malfoy interjected, his expression poison, but thankfully he never got to finish his sentence. **Professor Sprout** came waddling up the corridor, her arms full of branches from a pungent smelling bush. McGonagall made a slight choking sound and pulled her scarf over her nose and Lucius looked away, his expression dreadful, hand to his face. 

"Sorry chaps! Here's your order for hissing tyre weed, Pomfrey." She said cheerily, handing over the burning rubber smelling plant "That'll clear up those nasty cases of the expletive hiccoughs that's been going around- and in time too! Don't need that nasty language floating about the halls on such a merry time… Can you bring out those unused Venomwood branches- if you've finished taking the leaves off them? They make great garden stakes- keeps away the birds." She smiled her broad, sunny smile, dusting her hand off as Pomfrey nodded and took the plant, at arms length, into the hospital wing.   
"Minerva! I just passed Dumbledore back there; did you catch up with Flitwick?" She asked, eying Malfoy off with a slightly wary expression  
"No, I…"

"Oh good, I was rather keen to have a sneak peek at Dumbledore's idea before it was implemented… Still got the plans on you?" 

McGonagall smiled. Sprout was such a cheery little woman, even in the light of Malfoy's unannounced visit. She took out the parchment, and unrolled it, and handed it to the earthy little professor. 

"Don't mind if I peek then? Oh- That will look lovely…" She said, admiring the parchment readily

The parchment had a **picture of the Hogwarts front doors **on it. Normally, the doors remain plain over the season, but Dumbledore had come up with a lovely way of creating giant wreaths that lit up beautifully at night. The Hogwarts' H was in the very centre of the leafy arrangement, and the four mascots all entwined about it. He had also planned on wreathing the doors in the same, twinkling leaves. All in all the effect, at least in the picture, was quite spectacular, although so very simple.

Sprout handed the parchment back "Genius of a man, our Dumbledore- no one else would be able to create something that simple and at the same time, so dreadfully wonderful" She complimented, before turning to Malfoy. 

"Hello… Do I recognize a sullen young boy who was determined not to get dirty? Lucius Malfoy, am I right?" She asked slyly. Malfoy's expression melted into one of profound disgust.   
"Professor Sprout, it's been a long time…" He intoned flatly, with the innuendo of 'not long enough' hovering on his lips. Sprout laughed and gave him a friendly whack on the back. His cold grey eyes flashed indignation at, Minerva surmised, the thought of Sprout's grotty, dirt stained hand on his deep black cloak.

"Not that long! It seems only yesterday you were a skinny little pale boy in my class, fresh in with all the first years." She said, smiling benignly.   
Lucius bared his teeth slightly, acid comment rather obviously on the tip of his tongue as  Pomfrey returned with a bale of about four foot long sticks of a dull grayish colour, distracting Sprout.   
"Oh! Excellent, excellent- give them here- oh do be careful with them! Venomwood poisoning is nasty business… ah thank you…" She took the bundle and staggered a little under the weight.   
"Shall I help you, Sprout?" McGonagall offered, hands out to take some, but Sprout shook her head  
"No, no Minerva- you have to find Flitwick and get that most excellent idea implemented. I'll conjure up a little carrying spell, I think…" She put the bundle down and started patting down her clothes for her wand.   
During the distraction, Malfoy turned back to his persecution of Pomfrey.   
"I'm determined to spend Christmas with my son." He snapped, hands folded primly on the head of his cane. "Frankly, I don't care how this is implemented, as long as it happens." Pomfrey looked daggers at him. Minerva sighed. Pomfrey was so very protective of her patients, but the rule of thumb McGonagall had learned as a professor over the years was not to get between a parent and their child…

"Ah! Found it!" Sprout announced, rolling up her wooly, long sock **"How did that wand get into my stocking? **Must have put it there for safekeeping… Gracious, I'm so scattered lately! Yesterday I couldn't for the life of me remember where I put my potted Sugar Jube plant… Found it later- almost tore the greenhouse apart, behind the radio… Imagine that! Put there to give it some music- grows better that way…" She rambled, waving her wand airily at the bushel. "Locomotor flora!" She commanded.   
However, her gestured had been a little too extravagant, and her tone probably a trifle too forceful. The bushel came up sharply, and very fast, swooping around to float behind Sprout. But as they turned, hard and fast, they slammed hard into the side of the motionless Lucius, who's full attention had been on Pomfrey. 

He staggered forward slight and fell in a crumpled heap of expensive back cloaks.

Minerva was biting back a smile. Sprout looked rather startled and a little guilty, and Pomfrey was smiling outright as she knelt to check on him- her healing instinct kicking in naturally. 

There was a cut on the side of his face- nothing major… but the sap in the venomwood had made the blood go a much deeper red, and outlined the veins around the small cut dark against the pale skin.   
"Venomwood poisoning… long recovery rate. Not to mention **getting knocked out… he'll have to be taken into the hospital wing**…" She said, calmly, although her voice carried a slight quiver of mirth  
"Looks like he's getting to spend Christmas with his son, no matter what. Just as he wanted."   
  
Minerva was chuckling as she set out down the hall, leaving Pomfrey and the slightly shame faced sprout to move Malfoy to a bed, and went in search of Flitwick.


End file.
